Please hold my hand - cancer.

[Trazzletoes]

Currently in hospital since last night with DS who is 3. Scans show masses on his brain. Drs believe them to be tumours, likely to have come from his abdomen.

Waiting for more scans/tests etc. staff are being overly nice to us which is worrying me more (though they did refer us to social services last night as they thought DH or I had fractured DS' skull.

Feel incredibly sick. He is 3 years old. Please hold my hand.

Have only just spotted this in active conversations.
Sending you lots of love, strength and prayers.

Another one who's only just seen this. Thinking of you Trazzle and your lovely DS.

Just to let you know that the NHS in Wales have prohibited the use of the pink foamy things on a stick due to a choking incident. Not sure if they have in England too, but i wanted to warn you incase you have trouble.

Hope today's been ok.

Xxx

Thinking of you and your gorgeous son with another splodge in South Wales xx

Hi Trazzle That chemo regime sounds tough, sending prayers of love & strength to you all.

Iwish, thanks for the warning. DSis has just left, having cooked dinner, made a whole load of curry, DBil freed our broken washing machine and they cleaned our kitchen. DAunt is driving DM up here from the South either tomorrow or Monday. DH's family are coming tomorrow to do an intervention on the house and scrub so it is safe for DS. I'm feeling lazy to be sat in front of the tv watching Monday's BINTM and eating Maltesers.

We are lucky to have so much support. And thank you all again for your support.

We're anticipating that DS will be discharged in the morning and home in time for lunch. Eating has suddenly become a real battle as he loves the idea of food but can't bring himself to eat what is put in front of him. It's so sad because he usually wolfs his food down.

Glad you have such good support :) Don't feel lazy you need all the rest you can get!

Heffalumps not as rough as the super chemo still to come which is going to destroy his bone marrow to the point where it would never be able to replace itself without help

Hi again Trazzle What a fab family you have!

Sorry to hear your ds is having trouble eating but good to hear that you will all hopefully be back at home tomorrow - and you never know - home cooking might stimulate his appetite!

Well done to all of you for getting through the first round of chemo.

Sending more positive thoughts and prayers your way x

x post

that does sound scary - maybe take it the Flylady way - one step at a time ...???

Sending super-strong positive thoughts and prayers in return x

Aw, your poor little man, but as strictly says, home cooking is bound to be preferable to hospital food, and what an amazing family you have.

Enjoy your Maltesers!

Trazzle - great that your family is being so supportive. You must be so looking forward to having your DS come home tomorrow and no doubt he will love it.

Hope he will start eating a bit when at home. Is it already the effect of the chemo that he has not much appetite?

I hope you will all have a lovely and hopefully relaxing day tomorrow.

There a few here quite knowledgable of bone marrow stuff here :( ask away.

Great that you have loads of support. Have you done an online food order yet? Might be worth doing, as next week will be mad.

I have PMed you x

DS couldn't eat after having each GA as they always gave him oral thrush and it was a battle to get him to eat. The thrush made everything taste horrible and the medication tasted even worse. The dietician came to see him and left him pots of grey and beige sludge that he wouldn't touch. But his doctors were far more pragmatic. We were advised to give him junk food. McDonalds, KFC, Burger King etc as it is highly calorific and tasty which is exactly what is needed right now. Dr Livingstone at LGI btw God love him!

At some point they will probably give him dexamethozone to shrink the tumours in his brain and that will absolutely kick start his appetite. It's a powerful steroid. We could hardly keep up with DS's hunger but we figured that we were giving his body what it needed to make him strong to cope with the treatment.

If you're worried that he's not eating enough please speak to his consultant or the ward sister. They will give you great advice.

Ice pops and cough sweets are good after a GA because of tubing causing pain :(

So pleased to read that he is home tomorrow, I bet you'll all be so excited. X

Lisa, if we get that far (please God), he will have very aggressive chemo where they have to remove his stem cells beforehand and then pop them back in after. It makes me feel physically sick to be signing off all this horrific treatment for my beautiful DS, even though I know the alternative is unbearable.

I hope home cooking will help DS. I think part of it is the chemo and part is the stress of being in hospital. He loves the idea of food but when it's in front of him he just can't stomach it

I remember dh crying because he saw a £4 price tag on a jar of jam! I never spend that much on jam and he fancied it and I didn't care, but he said that was the point it hit him, because he knew what it meant :(

Please try and stay positive, harder said than done and don't be worried about crying and talking or having a few days of not answering phone/door.

I wouldn't worry too much about food right now, just as long as his drinking. If needed the hospital will give you special stuff to replace sugars and salts in the body if needed.

One step at a time sounds like good advice. I wish I could add something more helpful but know you and your family are in our prayers tonight xx

I know, I'm naturally a glass half empty type so thinking positive does not come naturally. But I'm trying. And I'm really looking forward to having him back home.

Hey Trazzle, delurking to say they wouldn't put him through this sort of treatment if they didn't believe it worth it. Am thinking and thinking of you and your DS. Don't know how you feel about semi-woo stuff, but acupuncture/acupressure for a young'un can be very helpful for any chemo-related nausea. Just a thought. And as best you can, look after yourselves; your health matters. Big big love xxxx

Each manages their own way. dH is a burybheadin sand type and wants to know very little but I'm a need to know all details type.

If he likes fizzy drinks, do chilled coke. Gosh likewise support junk food, and coke has many of the minerals you need. It's used in emergencies in refugee camps. If you can, get him to use a straw, you can get some really fun ones, because everyone drinks more and more easily through a straw than sipping a cup.

When I wake in the night I'll light a candle in my mind for you.

Yes was going to mention there is a healthcare alert on pink sponges atm. I expect you could use a cotton bud or something tho.
Sending more hugs your way